Table of Contents
Definition of Polyamory
(noun) Any condition or practice that involves romantic or sexual relationships with multiple consenting partners.
Types of Polyamory
Polyamory Pronunciation
Syllabification: pol·y·am·o·ry
Audio Pronunciation
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌpɑliˈæməri/
- British English – /ˌpɒliˈam(ə)ri/
Usage Notes
- Plural: polyamories
- A (noun) polyamorist engages in a (adjective) polyamorous or (adjective) polyamoristic marriage.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “polyamorous” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Crooks, Robert, and Karla Baur. 2014. Our Sexuality. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Polyamory
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “polyamory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/polyamory/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
polyamory. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/polyamory/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “polyamory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/polyamory/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“polyamory.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/polyamory/>.